A New Pern
by Kittisbat
Summary: Pern has been re-discovered and its knowledge gained. Mankind has realized that their dragons and species could help restore planets previously wiped free by thread. Join Iyola as she starts her life with dragons and firelizards she has never known before
1. A Dead Planet

Writer's note:

**Writer's note:**

**Hello people! This is my first Dragon Rider's of Pern fan-fiction I've posted on this site, but it's not actually my first. Most characters in this story are mine, but not all. The few characters that aren't mine wont actually be **_**in**_** the story, though, just mentioned in conversations. Pern, the creation of dragons, and anything else that first appeared in Anne's books is also not mine. Thusly, this is a **_**fan-fiction. **_**So no ranting about that.**__** Oh, and I have no clue what time period this is, but it happens sometime after Aivas and out of Anne's timeline. Oh, and if you review my story, you might be rewarded with another chapter and possibly a cookie. Enjoy!**

Iyola sat at one of the ship's tables munching on a bagel and thinking. They had receive an odd reward from the re-discovery of Pern, namely its dragons and the information the Aivas had gained on thread. What an odd and fascinating creature! It could eat a planet whole, and, in fact, had eaten many planets. One such planet she was headed to now with many other colonists.

Pern had given them the amazing dragons, thread resistant plants and the grubs that heal them, firelizards, numbweed, and many other odd things that would prove very useful. When mankind had realized the potential in this, whole planets being able to be colonized that couldn't have before, they pounced on it. Many Pernese had, too. So, they decided they would re-plant one of the dead planets and use the wonderful dragons to protect it. In the spur of the moment Iyola had decided to join the party and settle the new planet with the rest of the colonists.

It hadn't really been a long trip to reach the dead planet. From where Iyola had previously lived it was only a five-year journey. They had still put most of the passengers to sleep, but there weren't as many ill affects. Iyola had been up for about a week and had already gotten the hand of walking in zero gravity again. Not that her magnetic boots didn't help, though.

So, deciding she'd best learn with these new and fascinating creatures she'd be living with for the rest of her life, Iyola had spent most of her time studying the dragons, firelizards, and anything else Pernese. While she had been doing that, many Pernese had been learning about _her_ culture. It was an odd experience to be in the library with another person who you were studying, and vice versa.

Already Iyola had learned about the dragonriders that had chosen to come on the trip. They had brought three queens: one senior so that her experience could be of use, and two juniors so that their youth would help them on their new planet. Ten bronzes had tagged along for the ride as well as fifteen greens. Eight blues and thirteen browns had joined them as well. One of the juniors was also due to rise shortly after landing. They had kept her and her rider asleep a little longer than everybody else.

Many seeds, seedlings and saplings, and full-grown plants had been brought as well as some of the dragons' favorite foods. Many animals that hadn't originally been brought to Pern had been stored as well. They had even brought along some dolphins, which made Iyola extremely happy. Her mother, who was elsewhere on the ship at the moment, was a dolphineer. Her father was a smith. All three of Iyola's siblings had come to the new planet, too: Her older sister Yora, twenty-four, her twin brother Rarrent, eighteen, and her younger brother Herlin, ten. Herlin had already become fascinated by the swooping and mischievous firelizards that darted about the ship buy Iyola had her eyes set on being a dolphineer like her mother. Yora seemed to have already set her path, too, but she wanted to tend to the new and "exotic" plants. Rarrent didn't seem to care what he did, as long as his twin sister, who was slightly older than he, was close enough that he could pester her the whole time. Iyola grinned at the thought and finished her bagel.

Then an announcement could be heard over the intercom as clearly as if the person had been standing there, "We are nearing our destination. Groups A and B prepare for landing." Iyola grinned; she wouldn't have to wait much longer! Too bad she wasn't part of Group A or B. She'd have to wait a couple of days for her landing, but it was nice to think about it. Then Iyola wandered over to one of the many screens placed throughout the ship and gazed at the picture of her new planet.


	2. The Dolphins

Iyola gazed at the orangey-brown planet before her with some dismay. Her new planet was quite dead, and the only patches of color were the blues of the seas and oceans. Thread had wiped out the rest of the planet. As Iyola walked away from the depressing scene and towards where the dolphins were currently being kept she struggled to remember the name of her new planet. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized she didn't know. Then she remembered, the planet hadn't yet been named! Iyola sighed as she walked into the room with the great tank where the dolphins were swimming.

Iyola's mother was on the opposite side of the room all dressed up in her blue-and-black wetsuit. She had the small breather on her mouth and the large "fins" on her feet that she always used when swimming. She was getting ready to dive in when she saw her daughter.

"Iyola! Want to come with me for a swim? OceanDancer tells me the water is fine!"

Iyola thought on it only for a moment before rushing to the changing room and tugging on her own wetsuit, a dark green and brown one. She took the breather her mother handed her on the way out and placed in her mouth before diving in after her.

The water was indeed, fine. It was warm, as if the sun had been warming it all day. One of the dolphins, she recognized it as Aqua from his scarred dorsal fin, came up to her and nudged at her hand with his bottle-shaped snout. He squeaked happily as she scratched at his head.

"Swim with? Swim with? I-ola swim with me?" the dolphin asked in a high-pitched voice.

Iyola giggled and spoke through the black breather in her mouth, "Of course!" before taking a hold of his dorsal fin. As the pair sped through the waters her mother waved at her from her own dolphin, OceanDancer. OceanDancer had been paired to her mother, Loray, after the two had proved inseperable. OceanDancer refused to be dolphin to any but Loray. She would, of course, "play" with others, but it was clear she was her mother's and only her mother's.

Iyola was burst out of her thoughts as Aqua leapt out of the water high into the air and then splashing down, neatly sliding into the water. Aqua clicked happily before taking another leap into the air. Suddenly, he stopped. He nodded, as if talking to another, and took Iyola towards her mother and OceanDancer.

"What is it, Aqua?" Iyola asked the dolphin. He was swimming slowly towards the pair.

"Low-A and Dancer want see you, want see you," he clicked.

Iyola let go of his dorsal fin as he stopped and swam toward her mother and dolphin.

"What is it?" she asked, a bit worried.

"Oh, don't worry dear," her mother said soothingly as she realized she had scared her daughter. "I just wanted to tell you the good news! OceanDancer is pregnant!" As if to emphasize this, OceanDancer nodded her head and clicked loudly.

"That's wonderful!" Iyola exclaimed. She felt a small thrill as she realized her baby would be the first dolphin born on the new planet. "Congratulations OceanDancer!"

"No need, no need," the dolphin sqeaked. "We know before we go on far flight." Other squeaks and clicks from dolphins could be heard. Iyola scratched her head.

"Should have known you wouldn't have told me," Loray scolded lightly, he voice full of affection.

After swimming with the dolphins for a couple of hours, Iyola climbed out and showered. After getting dressed she wandered back to her families cabin where her younger brother was playing with one of the passenger's firelizards. It was a bronze.

"Look, sis! Fret tells me his human's going to be on out flight!"

Iyola grinned at her little brother. He really enjoyed these strange little creatures, and the creatures seemed to like him, too. Not many of the firelizards would even come near her.

Then Fret looked up at her and chirped, his eyes whirling green. Iyola stroked his little head.

"He also says he likes you," Herlin giggled. Iyola swatted at him affectionatly before clambering into her bed and drifting off to sleep.


	3. A New Home

**Writer's Note: Yes, I know the chapters have been extremely short so far. They will get longer, I promise! Starting the story can sometimes be the hardest part.**

"Will all members of Group M please report to Gate 3? All members of Group M please report to Gate 3."

Iyola had butterflies in her stomach. Today was the day! Today she would get to finally set foot on the new planet, her new home! She could barely keep from bouncing up and down as her parents loaded the last of their luggage into the bin.

They hadn't brought much, as they hadn't needed it. Their luggage consisted of their favorite clothes, some of their new planets money, seeds for their own personal garden, some decorative vases and sculptures, and Loray's jewelry box. Everything else would be provided, including furniture. As Iyola climbed into the spacecraft she couldn't help but wonder what her new house would look like. Her life was about to be drastically changed, and she knew it.

The seats were set into a circle. To the right of Iyola were her mother and father, to her direct left sat her twin, Rarrent, then Yora, and, at the end, sat Herlin. Then the restraints came down and Iyola remembered briefly the few times she had been on roller coasters. That was something she wouldn't miss. On her first coaster she had gotten sick, and on the others she hadn't been much better. After that she had avoided the great metal death traps.

Than Iyola felt the spacecraft shove off. She could hear its engines start and feel the slight pressure as it blasted through space. She watched the screen in the middle of the room that showed the planet they were blasting towards from the view of their ship, and then a ground view. Almost miraculously, plants had already started growing and construction was well underway. Once, briefly, Iyola thought she had seen the figure of a blue dragon flying by, but she thought it must have just been a firelizard. Speaking of firelizards, Fret was flitting around the room. He landed on Herlin's shoulder before his master scolded him and he settled back where he belonged. Most of the passengers seemed amused by his antics, but his human obviously wasn't.

After what seemed like ages a voice came over the intercom. "We will be landing soon. Please keep your restraints on at all times." Then the voice and the screen flicked off.

Iyola felt the pressure at the spacecraft started to enter the unnamed planet's atmosphere. There were no windows, so she couldn't see what was going on outside, but it sounded like a few rocks hit the craft before it finally settled on the ground.

Then the voice came over again. "We have misjudged out timing. We have landed during thread fall. The dragons are protecting our new homes, and the metal of our craft is protecting us, but we cannot leave the spacecraft until the Fall is over."

As if on cue, Fret started darting about the cabin again before disappearing _between_. Herlin's eyes grew wide and as he turned to me. "Sis! Sis, he says he's going to fight thread!" Iyola could see the worry in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Herlin, he'll be able to do it! He has the instincts for it, and the dragons to help him."

After a couple minutes of worried mumbling, the screen came back on to show the dragons turning the deadly shower to ash and the golden queens soaring low to the ground. For a moment, Fret could be glimpsed as he darted across the screen. Then, a brown dragon roared his pain winked _between_. It chilled the whole of those watching. To everyone's immense relief he reappeared to continue fighting.

Iyola lost track of time watching the dragons and their age-old nemesis thread. Finally, though, the last thread was charred and the ground crews came close enough that those watching could see them searching for burrows. Then the door was opened and the pilot spoke over the intercom once more.

"Enjoy the your new home! If you need any help, stop by the information desk, they'll explain it all." Then the voice cut off and Iyola could hear the pilot exiting the craft from his own door.

As Iyola exited, she was overwhelmed by how odd the place was. Already grass had started growing, shrubs and trees placed in the ground, and even a farm or two started growing. They had built a small temporary Weyr for the dragons, which they were returning to now. Really, it looked like the planet had always been alive until you looked past the large square of grass and out into nothingness.

Iyola followed her parents to the information desk, but wasn't really paying attention to what was being said. She simply looked out at all of the houses, some cookie-cutter, some unique, and at the people busying themselves around them. She took a deep breath in of the ocean-smell, which was, oddly enough, rather like her own ocean, and gazed at the few dolphins already swimming there. Only three had been brought down so far, but tomorrow the rest of the pods were to join them on this strange planet. Absent-mindedly Iyola followed her parents as they walked away, and only snapped out of it temporarily as she picked up the luggage she was to carry. Then she again followed her parents without really thinking.

It wasn't long before they appeared at their new home. It reminded Iyola of a metal hut, as its sides were plain metal with glass windows that had metal rods that formed a cross at the middle. The roof was also a shiny silver metal that was made of two sheets that met in the middle then sloped downward. There was no chimney.

Inside the house everything, in contrast to the outside, was wooden. The floors were wooden, the walls were wooden, the couch and armchair in the living room were wooden, even the counters in the kitchen were wooden. As Iyola set down her bags in the middle of the living room floor, she marveled at how nice her new home was. She hadn't expected anything like this. Then, after a gentle prod from her father, she dragged the bags to the room where they were to stay.


	4. And There Were Eggs

Iyola's next few days passed by as if she were in a trance. The rest of the pods landed, but she wasn't aloud to see them until they became more familiar with their new oceans. Most of her time was spent unpacking or sleeping. Finally, though, the boring routine was broken.

Iyola hadn't realized it until that day, but she lived relatively close to the temporary Weyr. Yora had started for the first time on her new job, she was a farmers assistant, or "barngirl," her parents had been off setting up their new workshops, and Rarrent just wasn't there. Iyola assumed him off exploring or bothering the neighbors. Still, only Herlin and herself were at the house. Herlin was once again playing with Fret (the little firelizard had grown quite fond of him,) and Iyola was watching him while she did the dishes. Suddenly, Herlin had stiffened and looked up to Iyola.

"Iyola! Sis, sis!" he called to her. Herlin never called her Iyola except when it was important. She looked down at him while he sat on the floor, her eyes filled with worry. "The queen! Fret keeps sending me pictures of the _queen!_ She's so very golden…. Fret's never seen her so golden! Look at his eyes! They're _red!_"

Iyola immediately knew what was going to happen. She had read about it while she had been on the ship. The queen was going to rise! It was time for her mating flight!

The Weyr wasn't large enough for a mating flight. It was barely big enough for the dragons! It consisted of a bunch of two-roomed rock houses, one room for the dragon, and one for its rider. There was a pen specifically made to hold only dragon prey nearby, and the queen was diving towards it. Iyola was looking out the kitchen window, which she now realized had a perfect view of the feeding-pen, watching her in all her majestic beauty. Herlin had just realized what was going on and moved to the window beside her. Iyola knew he didn't understand the full extent a mating flight cause, how much _influence_ it had, and she didn't want him finding out. Fret had disappeared. Chewing her nails, Iyola tried to figure out what she could do to distract her little brother.

Then she remembered the firelizard clutch! While on the spacecraft, one of the queens had clutched. Herlin had been eyeing and talking about the twenty-five egg clutch ever since they had been layed, and soon they would be hatching. The eggs were currently being sold by the owner at a rather expensive price, but if Iyola coughed up all her money she would be able to buy an egg. Herlin _was_ old enough for that.

"C'mon Herlin, let's go see the firelizard clutch! Didn't Fret say they were going to hatch soon?" It worked. Herlin became completely enveloped by joy as he thought of seeing the eggs himself. Iyola quickly grabbed her purse which held all of her money, she had exchanged her old currency for the currency of this planet only the day before, and started to head towards the home of the clutch-owner.

It wasn't a long walk, but it was a brisk one. Iyola kept up a steady pace the whole time, hoping to get there before anything happened. She could hear the queen bellowing her challenge to the bronzes, and their answering calls. She had just left the ground when Iyola knocked on the door and was let in.

"So you want to look at the eggs?" said the lady who opened the door. She wasn't exactly a pretty lady, her face was very plain and dotted with freckles, but she was nice. Her husband was a fisherman. They were both originally from Pern. "Believe it or not, but only about three people have come to look at them. Many have already been spoken for, but since no one has picked out specific eggs, they are all up for grabs in a way." Then her little queen appeared and flitted around her head before coming over and inspecting Herlin. She looked into his eyes, gave an approving cheep, then landed on her master's shoulder. She laughed softly. "Quinno likes you, young-man! She doesn't like many people, you know. Sort of looks down her nose at everyone. She's a spoiled little rascal, she is." As she spoke of her queen, affection colored her voice. Then they had entered her living room.

In the center of the room sat a coffee table. A black box, about as long as Iyola's forearm and a perfect square, sat on top. Inside the square sat a bowl with sand and the firelizard eggs. "You know," the lady began again, "I had to convince her not to go back to Pern to lay her eggs. She's a silly thing, thinking to go all the way back there. I had to tell her that then, they would be unprotected. Finally, though, I managed to get her to lay them where I told her. And here they are! Amazing little things, aren't they?"

Inside the bowl lay many little white eggs, smaller even than a chicken's, but just. They had no coloration to them at all, and looked exactly the same. Fret appeared again, only slightly calmer than before, and landed on Herlin's shoulder. Her claws dug into the boy's shoulders until they drew blood. His eyes were whirling green mixed with a large amount of red.

"Fret, calm down! Ow, hey, that hurts!" Herlin unhooked the talons from his shoulder and cradled the little bronze in her arms, stroking him and scratching his head.

"It would be my husband's firelizard that would befriend you, wouldn't it?" the lady said as she noticed Fret. "He's a rascal too, but he never seems to get caught in the act." By now Fret had calmed down quite a bit, but red still floated in his eyes.

"How much are the eggs?" Iyola asked, changing the subject. Herlin gave a little squeak of happiness.

"Hm. They're normally a hundred and fifty…. Oh, what's the new currency? Quayits? Quickuns? Quaykuns? Oh yes, quayuns! Normally a hundred and fifty quayuns, but because the firelizards like the boy so much, I can take down the price to eighty quayuns."

Iyola was astonished. The lady had taken down the price so much! Of course, maybe on Pern they had different customs… Still, it was a lot. "Are you sure, ma'am? That seems like quite-" Iyola was interupted by another dragon-shriek, "a lot of money."

"Of course I'm sure," the lady said, seeming not to notice the dragon. "Anyone Quinno likes is worth his marks! I mean, err, quayuns."

Iyola grinned at the lady's mistake, but not unkindly. She was still having to get used to the customs of the rest of her new planet. "Herlin? Would you like to pick out an egg?" Herlin seemed to snap out of a trance as he heard his sister. He walked forward, grinning from ear to ear like an idiot, and looked down at the eggs. With some help from Fret, he picked one out.

"Now, how do we take care of this, uh, firelizard egg?" Iyola asked nervously.

"Well, you'll first need to put it in warm sands. When it hatches, which should probably be tomorrow or the day after, the one who is to Impress the little thing is to feed it bits of meat. Anything will do, really, they aren't very picky."

"How do we go about with warm sands?" Iyola asked, confused.

"Well, one of the people on the ship gaze me this to keep the eggs warm, but the way I did it back on Pern was putting it in a clay vase or bowl, getting a good fire going, and setting it down on the hearth. That did a pretty good job when there weren't warm beach sands."

Iyola nodded. Darn, she'd now have to buy a clay pot with her quickly depleting quayuns. No, she'd have to buy a heater, they had no fireplace.

"Here," Iyola said as she handed over the necessary quayuns. "But can we come back and pick it up later? I need to buy a heater for it."

"Of course!" she said with a good-natured smile. Then, leaning towards Iyola she whispered in her ear while Herlin wasn't paying attention, "I do believe the flight's over now, dear, so you don't have to worry about your brother." Iyola grimaced slightly. This stranger had figured it out. Then the lady chuckled and whispered again, "I was weyrbred, my dear, I know all about it." With that, Iyola and Herling took their leave.

After buying the heater, stopping back by for the egg, and setting it up at their house, Iyola finally relaxed. The flight had _indeed_ been over. It hadn't been long before she had heard the gossip and news spread about. Apparently the queen had been Quizzeth, dragon to Jarnet, and had been flown by Garrengeth, dragon to W'ith. Despite the fact that Jarnet's dragon had been the first to rise on the new planet, it had already been decided that the senior queen's rider, Fain, rider of Fayleth, would be the Weyrwoman as she had the most experience. One of the bronze riders was standing in as Weyrleader until Fayleth rose again.

_So many names_ Iyola thought. _How will I remember them all?_

It wasn't long before their parents were home, even if Rarrent didn't return until later. They had immediately made sure Herlin hadn't seen the spectacle, but, happy with Iyola's reactions, they had nothing to worry about. They then gave her some money to replace that she spent on the egg, but they didn't pay it all back, telling her that "she could have just distracted him in a much cheaper manner." Iyola knew better than that, but she hadn't been expected to get any money back at all, so she said nothing.

After dinner (which Rarrent magically appeared just in time for,) Iyola went straight to bed, exhausted by the day's exploits.


	5. A Little Bit of Gold

**Writer's Note: Ugh, another short chapter. Oh, and some new characters are going to start appearing fast.** **Be prepared!**

Even though Iyola had been warned about the next day, it still took her by surprise when Fret suddenly appeared in their living room humming. Herlin, on the other hand, wasn't and immediately rushed over to stand excitedly by the little egg in the heater. Only after a rush of pictures that flowed into her mind from Fret's did she finally realize what was going on.

The egg was hatching!

Iyola wasted no time in pulling out the scraps of meat that had been saved for the past few days to give to the dolphins. The little firelizard couldn't eat much, so there should still be some left for the dolphins. Herlin was still staring, transfixed, by the egg.

"Herlin, take some scraps. He won't impress to you unless you feed him!"

Without looking up Herlin took a handful of meat and simply held it.

During that odd moment when Fret was humming, Herlin gazing down at the egg silent, Iyola thought he looked more mature. He no longer looked like the excitable ten-year old that Iyola remembered. He looked more like a teenager.

Then the first crack appeared as the egg shook wildly. Fret's humming struck a louder cord. He grew louder and louder still as ever more cracks appeared on the egg and finally burst into tiny shards. Where the egg had once been there was now a little, golden, firelizard.

"Feed him! Feed him!" Iyola whispered in Herlin's ear needleslessy. He was already offering bite-sized bits of meat to the little creature.

The queen's body was a little longer than the palm of the average hand. Her tail, almost twice the length of her own body, seemed to get her tied into knots. She kept tripping over it as Herlin offered her meat closer and closer to his welcoming hand. Her eyes were whirling a bright orange. The time seemed to pass quickly and slowly at the same time until, at last, the little gold was stuffed to the brim, her stomach bulging, and asleep in Herlin's cradling arms. Fret stood on his shoulder for a while, crooning to his off-spring before disappearing _between._ Herlin said he was going to tell his master and the lady whose queen he had flown that the queen of the clutch had impressed.

It didn't take long before Herlin fell asleep, just like his little queen. Iyola was beside herself with excitement for her little brother and almost left him to go tell her parents. She managed to resist the urge, however, and decided to settle down and read a book she had checked out from the library.

Around lunch time Rarrent appeared. Iyola set down her book and fixed them both sandwiches, explaining as they ate about Herlin and his new firelizard. Rarrent, in an unusual state of kindness towards his brother, became extremely happy and congratulated him after he woke up a few minutes later.

"So," Rarrent asked, "what are you going to name her?"

"I don't know," Herlin yawned. "How about…. Frizza?"

A wide grin appeared on Rarrent's face. "If you want to name your queen Frizza, go right on ahead and name her Frizza!"

And so the firelizard was dubbed Frizza, Iyola mused to herself.

Loray came home first. It took her a while before she realized the whole house was abuzz and happy. Then she saw the reason.

Sitting on the dinning room table, eating scraps of meat that humans normally considered unappetizing, was a young firelizard queen. It only took a second before she realized whose it was.

"Herlin!" she exclaimed happily. "You have a queen! I can't believe it! A queen!" Loray wrapped the ten-year old in a giant bearhug.

An hour later Quine, Iyola's father, opened the door and saw everyone in their unusual mood. Herlin was sitting in the middle of the living room floor with practically the whole family surrounding him. He walked up and looked into the circle and almost let out an exclamation.

He couldn't believe it! His son had wonderful choice in eggs! After congratulating him Quine joined the circle watching the little gold sleep in Herlin's arms.

The next day, Rarrent was charged with Herlin's care. Iyola was set free, and the first thing she did was head to the library.

The first thing Iyola noticed upon entering was its smell. It smelled like a brand new building that had just been painted and refurnished. Everything was near and tidy, and there were few people there. As Iyola wandered over to the Pern section, she realized she didn't yet have a library card. That would be something she would have to do before she left. Then she settled in and started browsing the Pernese books.

She wasn't the only one there in the Pern section. Another girl, about her age, but shorter and with blond hair, was pulling out a book on dragons.

"Hello," Iyola greeted her good naturedly. The girl looked up and grinned. She had the eyes that changed with what you were wearing. Her skin was pale with a light tan. She was short and thin, but cute in that petite sort of way. As she spoke, it was soft and happy.

"Hello, I'm Amy. May ask who you are?"

"I'm Iyola," she answered back. Amy's happiness was spreading. "Are you Pernese, or no?" I'm not."

"No, I'm not Pernese. But Pern is such a fascinating place… I love to read about their stories and hear their songs!" She put back her book on dragons and pulled out another. "I especially like the balled Moreta's Ride! I'm learning to play it on my violin."

"You play the violin? I swim with the dolphins. Nothing special, really."

"Dolphins? Are your parents dolphineers?"

"My mother is. Her dolphin is OceanDancer."

"Oh, so you're one of Loray's daughters! I like dolphins, too, so I've learned a lot about your mother."

"Oh, um, cool…"

"Oh, sorry, that's kinda weird, isn't it? Oh, look at the time! I'd better be off. Talk to you later?"

"Tomorrow, noon, same place?"

"Sure, see you!"

"Be seeing you!" Iyola went home whistling a happy tune, forgetting completely about her library card.


	6. Trouble

Iyola was stuck with her brother again the next day. It was Thursday, and school was going to start soon. Rarrent had supposedly gone to a "study party" with some of his friends, which left Iyola with Herlin and his sleeping Frizza. She was going to have to drag them to the library with her. That wouldn't actually be much of a problem, as Herlin loved to read, but she was worried about what might happen if Frizza woke up hungry while she was there.

Still, she had promised Amy she would make an appearance, and she planned to. So, after feeding the gang and early lunch, they headed out to the library. Herlin walked with Frizza cradled in his arms and Fret perched happily on his shoulder.

It's no surprise that then, when Amy saw Herlin with the pair, she immediately became excited.

"Is he your brother?" she quickly asked Iyola. "He looks like you."

"Yes, this is my ten year old brother, Herlin. Herlin, can you pull yourself away from the firelizards long enough to say hello to Amy?"

"Nice to meet you Amy," he mumbled, barely looking up. "This is Frizza," he told her, pointing to the little queen, "and that is Fret."

"He has two firelizards?" Amy gasped.

"Oh, no no no," Iyola almost laughed. "Frizza is, but Fret is just a bronze that likes him. He's been following Herlin around since the ship!"

"Oh, how odd," Amy said thoughfully. "Well, this is my sister, Taylor. She's sixteen. Just old enough to stand on the sands," she mused to herself. Then the little black-haired girl appeared at Amy's shoulder. She was slightly shorter than Amy, and had her same petite features. Her voice wasn't nearly as soft, and she seemed very outgoing.

"Hello, I'm Taylor," she said as she took Iyola's hand. "It's nice to meet you." Taylor, unlike Amy, had brown eyes. She shook Iyola's hand in such a manor it was almost aggressive.

By this point, Herlin had wandered off to sit in one of the chairs with a book on firelizards. Fret was still on his shoulder, but Frizza was curled up in his lap, gleaming in the light of the reading lamp. Iyola grinned to herself before turning back to the sisters. "Do you like the Pernese, too?"

"Oh course!" Taylor put in excitedly. "I especially like the dragons. I like to day dream about what it would be like to ride on the back of a queen."

"Don't we all," Iyola replied.

"Taylor's already gotten her dragon's name picked out and everything," Amy added. "You do know you don't get to name your dragon, right Taylor?"

"Of course I know!" insisted Taylor. "You've told me plenty of times! But since I'm not actually getting a dragon, I deserve to be able to think up my dream's name, don't I?"

The whole group laughed quietly before heading to the back of the library towards the Pern books and the comfy couches that sat there. While talking, they each pulled out a book and sat down to read.

"I heard they're going to start a Harper Hall here," Iyola told Amy as she opened her book. It was a book of Pern's favorite songs. "Do you plan on joining it?"

"I might, but I don't think I'm qualified. Besides, musicians don't get paid very much."

"Harpers do, though, and this whole planet is going to become more like Pern before it becomes less."

"I suppose you're right, but I just don't want to have to think about that yet…"

"Of course," Iyola comforted. "I don't either."

After the group finished their session together, they exchanged addresses, phone numbers, times when they would be at home, and their favorite places to be. They definatly wanted to meat up again.

As soon as Iyola got home, she saw her parents. They were home early, how odd.

"Iyola, dear," Loray said in a worried tone, "where have you been?"

"The library, of course. I told you I would be," she answered in a confused tone.

"But a Fall is about to start! Didn't you know about it? You should have checked before you left!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mom! I didn't realize!" And, as if on key, they heard the first thread hit their roof.

The Fall seemed to take forever, especially concerning that Iyola had nothing to do. She hadn't checked out her book, which she was wishing she had, now, and she had done her chores before they left. Herlin was just sitting with Frizza, Fret had left to fight Fall with the dragons, Rarrent was content with bothering Iyola, Yora was at her work, and Iyola's parents were busy talking to each other. She only had a couple more hours to go, she thought to herself pessimistically.

When the Fall finally passed, Iyola couldn't hide her imense relief. She quickly went outside to visit the dolphins. As she sat on the dock talking with them, she couldn't help but realize the dolphins _liked_ thread. They thought of it as a tasty treat, which just disgusted her. Still, there was no way she was going to show her disgust to the dolphins, and she continued talking with them. Without concious thought, Iyola decided that she was going to swim with the dolphins the next day. She missed their playful antics, and her days were growing boring. Dolphins would be just the break she needed. So, the next day, she swam with the dolphins. Nothing phenomenal happened, but Iyola was happy at the end of the day.

The next day was Saturday, and she had work to do. They were going to plant their garden today. As Iyola got down on her hands and knees in the dirt, she and her mother talked.

"So, how are you liking the new place so far?"

"It's great, Mom! I couldn't ask for anything better. There are dragons, and firelizards…"

"No, I don't mean that. I mean our new house, the planet, our home in general. Not the creatures living there."

"But the dragons are such a big part of our new world!" Iyola argued. "Without them, we would all die, and there would be no chance the planet could survive, either. It's not like on Pern, when thread only fell every hundred years. It falls every ten years here!"

"I know, dear, but you act like a dragon is something more than a working animal. They aren't dolphins, you know."

This angered Iyola. She had been around firelizards enough to know they were intelligent creatures, and that dragons were much smarter than they were. Dragons were on par with dolphins, maybe even smarter! "Mom, I disagree. They aren't just working animals. I don't think you've seen the side of them that isn't fighting thread."

"Neither have you," she pointed out.

"I've read about it, though. I've read the journals of dragon riders, and they don't believe their dragons are merely working animals! If a dragon's rider dies, the dragon comits suicide. Don't you think that shows some inteligence?"

"I didn't say they weren't smart, dear. I said they were working animals. And they are. Their job is to keep us safe."

Iyola couldn't take this any longer. She stormed off, her clothes still dirty, to where Amy and her sister lived.

"She thinks dragons are just _working animals?!_" Amy exclaimed.

"Yes! She doesn't even think of them on the same level as _dolphins!_ Dolphins! Can you believe it?!"

"No, I can't. That's just…. Just…."

"Weird!" Taylor put in. "Don't think about it much, parents can be funny sometimes."

Iyola had felt a little better after talking with her friends. They seemed to understand her. After cooling down with them, she apoligized for just barging in on them and went home. She managed to fall asleep.


	7. Beach Sands

The next few days passed by without much event. Iyola got into the occasional argument with her mother about dragons and firelizards, but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until about Wednesday until something sprung up.

Iyola heard a knock at the door. She expected it to be Rarrant, who often forgot that the key was under the flowerpot if the door was lock. So when she opened it, she was caught completely unawares when she saw Taylor and Amy standing there.

"Oh, Amy, Taylor, I wasn't expecting you! Come in, come in!" As she shooed the sisters into the living room, she could see they were excited.

"You won't believe this!" Amy practically squeaked. "We've heard rumors, like everyone else, about some wild firelizards that were brought along by accident. Well, we were over by the beach, just having some fun, and we found a clutch!"

"_I_ found a clutch," Taylor corrected. "_You_ were out playing with the dolphins."

"_Anyways,_ it's a queen clutch, and from what I've read, about to hatch soon. _Really_ soon. Like, today, soon. So, while we were out yesterday, we caught some fish. We cut them into firelizard-sized pieces, and we're going to see if we can't Impress one!"

"That sounds like a great idea! But how do you know you were the only ones to find it?"

"Well, we don't," Taylor answered. "There were other footprints. But it's a clutch of twenty-four, so we think we can share. Don't you?"

Iyola nodded and the group headed out.

As the trio walked along the beach, a pod of dolphins followed them, squeaking and clicking the whole way. It was OceanDancer's pod, and they were wondering why Iyola hadn't come to play with them lately. Iyola kept telling them, "I've been busy," but they continued pestering her. Taylor and Amy found it amusing. Iyola rolled her eyes at them before they finally reached the clutch.

It was amazing they had found it. The way they were buried, they looked like they were simple beach rocks. As the group sat around it and handed out bits of meat, the queen, obviously the clutch's official owner, appeared and scolded them vocally and with her claws. After feeding her almost a whole fish she was placated and settled for watching them carefully.

With the dolphins leaping and squeaking in the distance and everyone around the eggs, the mood was set. Everyone was happy, and it didn't take long for a conversation to start brewing. Amy and Taylor could some times be gossips, but at other times they wanted to hear nothing of what the latest news was. _What odd people, _Iyola thought. _But they are still nice friends to have._

Then someone else appeared. She walked casually, but as soon as she saw the trio she rushed over.

"Oh, darn! I'm not the only person to find the clutch!" she exclaimed in a voice of medium tone. The voice was almost childish, but she didn't sound like a mean person. She had pale skin and was pleasantly plump, but was by no mean fat or in the "overweight" zone. Her eyes were dark brown.

"We thought we weren't the only ones!" Amy called over. "Will you come join us? There is more than enough eggs."

The girl came over and sat beside Taylor, who was closer to her own age. She smiled despite herself, and it showed her dimples. She had a bag over her shoulder made of leather that was obviously carrying firelizard food.

"Hi, I'm Cidney," the new girl told them.

"I'm Iyola, this is Amy, and that's Taylor," she gestured to each in turn. "It's nice to meet you."

"How'd you scare off the queen?" Cidney asked. "She went after me when I found them a couple days ago."

"We fed her. See? She's right over there," Taylor pointed. The queen glared back.

"But if you found the nest a couple of day ago," Iyola wondered out loud, "who's footprints did you see?"

"Well," Cydney put in, "I _did_ visit the eggs yesterday, but there were _three_ pairs of footprints, not two."

"Then who-" Iyola stopped as she saw another figure appear of the horizon. As the figure got closer, she realized it was a man about her own age. He had a mop of dirty bronze hair on his head.

"Am I late?" he asked with a voice that seemed to be too deep for his body.

"Nope!" Taylor answered for us.

Amy did the introductions this time. "Hi, I'm Amy. This is Iyola, Taylor, and Cydney."

"Hello, I'm Tayl, it is grand to meet you," he gave them all a mock bow that made the group laugh. He pulled out his own bag of meat and sat down in the circle.

"It looks like you're just in time, Tayl," Amy announced as the eggs started to rock. The queen hopped closer and started to hum. Several more firelizards, not all wild, appeared to join in the chorus. Everyone took out bits of meat and held it in their hands.

As the eggs shook and cracked Iyola idly noticed that these eggs were larger than the clutch from which Frizza had come. These eggs _were_ the size of chicken eggs, and the firelizards that burst forth were slightly larger as well.

The first eggs to hatch produced a small bronze, who was crooning his hunger. The firelizards had started bringing in food from the sea and dropping it around the eggs and hatchling. Even though a couple people tossed him bits of food, he refused it and instead pounced on a ripped and torn dead fish the queen had brought. Another egg then hatched, producing a dark brown that looked almost black with the egg goop still clinging to him.

Cydney acted the fastest. She tossed him a piece of meat; Iyola recognized it as pork, which the young lizard immediately pounced on. She continued tossing pieces closer and closer to herself until he took it straight out of her hands. Soon he was curled up on her lap, asleep.

By this time, many other eggs had cracked open, but no one else had yet managed to tempt one of the lizards toward them. Then one green, who was being beat upon by a bronze, creeled in hunger and stumbled away from the group. Amy, soft hearted, reached out to it, but the green toddled away from her. She refused the meat that Amy tossed to her, and reeled towards Iyola. She quickly tried to capture the young firelizard's attention, but it ignored her. Then a bronze pounced on her and if it weren't for Taylor's quick action he would have devoured the green.

Taylor scolded the wet lizard quietly as she fed the hungry beast. He couldn't help himself, he felt starved after having been in an egg so long. Taylor scooted a little way aways and continued feeding her new lizard. Then a blue hatched that, after taking a quick look around at his audience, wobbled straight towards Tayl, who took the chance and fed him. It wasn't long before Tayl also had a lizard in his lap.

Cidney Impressed another green before the last egg, and the largest, of the clutch hatched. A little gold spilled out, who crooned piteously from where she lay. Iyola and Amy both offered her food, but the queen chose Amy. As soon as all of the firelizards had disappeared on their marry way or sat curled up in laps, a conversation started again.

"What shall we name them?" Iyola asked, though she had no firelizard from her efforts.

"Oh, Iyola, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you hadn't gotten one! If I had, I would have given you my little gold…"

"Don't worry about it," Iyola put in quickly. "I didn't find the clutch. I'm also probably not worthy of a free firelizard anyways. You guys enjoy yours. You deserve them more than I do."

They all looked at her sympathetically, but there was nothing they could do. Besides, their lizards did need names.

Tayl spoke up first. "I think I'll name mine Quirk, because he's so quirky!" The little lizard briefly opened his eyes and cheeped before falling back to sleep.

"I'll name mine Alex," Taylor told us. "He just looks like an Alex, doesn't he?"

"And mine will be Calib," Cidney pointed to the brown, "and Alexandra," and she pointed to the green.

"I don't know what to name mine," Amy said with some dismay. "Nothing seems worthy."

Iyola grinned. "Why not Yma? It's your name spelled backwards. That would be perfect."

Amy's face was lit up by a smile as she answered. "Yes, Yma! That's your new name, my little queen," she told the gold as she stroked her back.

It was, overall, a good day. As the new friends parted after exchanging addresses, phone numbers, and promises to meet on the beach again, Iyola couldn't help but feel happy despite what had happened. Sure, she was coming home empty handed, but what did it mean when you got this inner feeling of everything in the world being _right? _So, with a happy heart, Iyola went home.


	8. A Surprising Find

**Writer's Note: This chapter should make you happy, brownrider. Oh, and I think I finally did a good job of leaving you in suspense. I might or might not wait until tomorrow to add the next chapter. :******

The next couple of days passed without anything extrodinary happening. Iyola didn't hear much from her friends as they were all busy with their new firelizards. She occaisonally went out to the dolphins, but they were constantly bombarding her with questions. They knew she was in a bad mood, but they were annoyed that she wouldn't tell them.

After literally being prodded three times within the span of five minutes, Iyola finally spilled her emotion onto OceanDancer, the worst dolphin she could have. Of course, she knew OceanDancer the best, but telling her mother's dolphin about being angry with her wasn't the smartest thing she had ever done. Nevertheless, Dancer seemed to understand. She agreed with Iyola that dragons weren't just working animals, and it felt good to get it off her chest. Still, dolphins were gossips, and she knew before long it would all leak back to her mother. Still, it took her by surprise when later that day her mother confronted her about it.

"Iyola, dear, I heard you talked to the dolphins today…."

Iyola groaned. _Here it comes,_ she thought, _here comes the lecture._

"Honey, you don't seem to be getting over this dragon thing. You seem to be unable to shift in your opinion. Dear, will you just tell me _why?_"

"Well, for starters, I read a lot about them back at the library. Dragon riders don't believe their dragons are 'just working animals,' but a farmer knows his horse is. I've also read about firelizards. The books say they are just smaller, not nearly as smart or attached creatures as dragons. I've been around firelizards enough to know _they_ aren't 'just working animals.' I attended a lizard Hatching, remember?"

Loray sighed a sigh of forfeit. "I give up. You're right, they aren't 'just working animals.' They are important, and they do have a use, but not in the same way as horses."

Iyola was so happy that for the next few days she didn't notice much at all.

It was only when a dragon landed by the library (where she had been reading about the anatomy of a firelizard,) that she realized about two weeks had passed since the queen had risen to mate. She had laid her eggs!

As the blue and brown riders dismounted, a crowd started to surround them, many whom had never before seen a dragon. Iyola sighed and, realizing it would be fruitless to try to wade through the crowd just to glimpse the dragons, she looked back down at her book and continued reading.

Iyola was just about to leave the library when something at the bottom of the page caught her eye.

"Firelizards rising to mate, in specific, queens, have a similar effect on their masters as dragons do when they rise."

Iyola's heart sank as she realized what that meant for Herlin. She had been wrong, he was much to young for a lizard.

Iyola was pacing on the beach, something she rarely did as it agitated the dolphins, as she told her friends about her recent discovery and what she had done to her little brother. All of them were in attendance, Taylor, Amy, Cydney, even Tayl. They all tried to help her find a way out of this one, but she had gotten herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"You could, um, take away Frizza for that week!" Cydney tried to contribute.

"I don't think so," Iyola replied without stopping her circular trot. "You should know from experience firelizards can go where they want if they want to and there is nothing you can do about it."

"You're right," Cydney replied gloomily and looked at her shuffling feet.

"You could let him deal with it," Taylor put in.

"Yeah, that would go over _real_ well with Mom and Dad."

"I could get my queen to-" started Amy.

"Frizza is a queen herself. She wont easily take orders from any other lizard unless during thread Fall and from a bronze."

"Don't firelizards listen to dragons?" Tayl spoke for the first time the whole session.

"Yes, but I don't see where that puts us," Iyola replied grouchily.

"Get a dragon rider to control Frizza. Have the dragon send her away while she's in season, and then bring her back when it's over."

"Don't get me wrong, Tayl, that's a brilliant idea, but should we really get dragons and their riders involved in this? They're all Pernese, and they're going to think me mighty stupid for letting him Impress a lizard so young.

"You've got a point, but my idea still stands. Unless you can think of anything better before it happens, that's our best bet."

Iyola sighed as she realized he was right. She plopped down into the sand cross-legged and put her cheek in her hand.

"How long do we have?" asked Amy.

"It takes about a year and a half for a firelizard queen to mature, half the time of a queen dragon. In other words, I have a long time to worry."

"Don't," Taylor immediately told her. "When it happens, or even when it gets close, I'll know," and she pointed to the bronze bundle in her lap.

As Iyola let out her breath, she only then realized she had been holding it, she submitted herself to the new plan's mercy. It was going to happen, whether she wanted it to or not, and she might as well not worry until it happened. Everybody stood up and stretched their muscles, it had been a couple hours they had been sitting there, and started to part ways. As they started to say their goodbyes, they didn't notice the beast in the sky. They didn't notice it until it landed in front of them and glared at them all in the most curious of ways.


	9. A Green, a Bronze, and a Blue

As the large green head poked forward and inspected the rag-tag group of friends, everyone froze. It was so **BIG!** The green's rider dismounted while they stood mesmerized by her whirling eyes.

"Hello, I am Sh'ron, rider of great Krith here. We were just returning from Search, it's hard to find good candidates when you are unused to your surroundings, and she saw you guys. Before I could stop her, she landed. Sorry for startling you."

Everyone was flabergasted. After a couple of tries at speaking, everyone gave up and let Sh'ron take over the talking.

He was a tall, tan man with a mop of dark brown hair on his head. It was in quite a disarray after he pulled off his riding cap. His voice wasn't as deep as Tayl's, but just as kind.

"May I ask your names?"

Taylor managed to get her voice back the quickest. "I'm Taylor, this is my sister Amy, next to her is Iyola, then there's Cydeny, and _way_ over there is Tayl."

"None of you are Pernese, I assume?" They all nodded. "Never been this close to a dragon, have you? Oh well. So, how do you guys feel about becoming Candidates?"

Their eyes grew wide. This time, Tayl spoke up. "We-we would love to!"

"Alright. Well, I'll have to call another dragon first, but-" Sh'ron paused and his eyes grew far and distant. Then he came back. "Oh, right. I forget I'm no longer on Pern. Please forgive me. You must talk to your parents, first, mustent you?"

Again, everyone at a loss for words, they nodded.

"How about I come back in two hours? By then I'll have more dragons to ferry you, and you can pack. I'll meet you back here. Be seeing you!" And he hopped back on his dragon and flew away.

Everyone stood there, dazed, before they finally realized they had better get a move on. Without saying a word, they scattered and headed back to their own houses.

Luckily for Iyola, both of her parents where home. Herlin was off playing with the firelizards, thinking that made her stomach make a leap, and Rarrant was watching him. Yora was sitting at the table talking with Quine and Loray.

"Um, Mom, Dad?" she began hesitantly.

"What is it, dear?" her mother asked kindly.

"While I was out with my friends on the beach, a dragon came down, and…." She took a deep breath. "I've been Searched."

Loray gasped, Yora glared at her little sister as if she had stolen something out of her room, and Quine started grinning like a fool. He clapped her on the back before congratulating her.

"Oh, Iyola, my girl! You've got to get packed, and right away! When are you moving to the Weyr? Can Rarrant and Herlin she you before you leave? You've got to get some food in you before you leave, my dear."

With her father helping, Iyola packed her clothes, any of her more personal possesions, all of her quayuns, and had it all in a bag by the door before an hour had gone by. Her parents had given her more money to live on, her mother had run out and bought her a lovely dress from a Pernese merchant, he had called it a "Gather Dress," whatever that meant, and made sure she wouldn't leave without a full belly in the next half hour. Then Herlin and Rarrant were called in to say their good-byes and the whole family followed her while she waited on the beach.

They had gotten her there about ten minutes early, so no one else had yet appeared. As the minutes ticked by, though, the whole group started to appear, each with their own family. All of the firelizards were excitedly flitting about and doing complex acrobatics in the air. Finally, everyone was present, and everyone started chatting animatedly with eachother.

Then the first dragon arrived.

It wasn't Krith, instead, it was a great blue. The rider that got off his back was female, and introduced herself as Invale, rider of blue Maynerth. She was mate to Krith, and it became apparent their affection for eachother when the great green landed next. Before much more could be said about the subject, though, while Rarrent was giving a big hug to his twin, both the riders stiffened. The glanced at their dragons, and then back to the pair hugging.

Nobody noticed the transfer, though, as the next dragon to land was a bronze.

The bronze rider introduced himself as L'ek, rider of Gerath. The trio of riders stood side-by-side, and it was obvious they were all friends. They whispered together for a moment before looking back to their audience.

"It would appear," the bronze rider began, "that there are more than just five Candidates here. Would you come forward, young man?" He pointed directly at Rarrant.

"M-me?" He stumbled forward after being shoved by his sister.

"What's your name?" asked Sh'ron in a kind and comforting voice.

"I'm R-Rarrant. My name is Rarrant."

"Well, Rarrant, how would you feel about becoming a Candidate?"

"I-I would love to! There is nothing I can think of that I'd like to do more!"

The bronze rider stepped forward again. "We'll come for you tomorrow at noon. Is that ok with you?" he asked Loray and Quine.

"Of course!" exclaimed Loray. "We'll have him here and ready by noon!"

Then the candidates were split up into groups. Amy and Taylor would rider together on blue Maynerth, Tayl and Cydney would rider together on great Krith, and Iyola would ride alone on bronze Gerath.

As everyone clumsily mounted the dragons, with much help from their riders, the parents and siblings waved and shouted, "Good-bye! We'll miss you!" With a final salute to the watching families, L'ek gave the signal for the riders to take off.

Flying was wonderful! Iyola felt the ground slip away and a slight queasiness at the back of her mind, but she pushed it away. It felt exhilirating and frightening at the same time.

After the dragons had gained enough height, L'ek turned to Iyola. "We're going to be going _between,_ now. Don't worry, we'll be with you the whole time, even if you don't feel us, and it should only last about three seconds. Ready?" Iyola nodded nervously before she disappeared into darkness.

_Between_ was horrible! Iyola couldn't feel the great bulk of the bronze underneath her, nor his rider that sat in front of her. She screamed into the darkness, the whole time counting the seconds as they ticked by. She felt reality start to come back, and she clamped her mouth shut.

When they re-entered the world, they weren't above the temporary Weyr. They were hovering above a great mass of sand with a cluster of eggs in the middle. Around the valley with the sands in the center, mountains rose up with jagged peaks. It wasn't cold enough for there to be snow, even on the tallest of peaks, but it still felt cold to Iyola after being in _between_.

The dragons landed on the hot sands a distance away from the protective queen and her clutch. As everyone dismounted, L'ek called out, "Now, as you may have noticed, this isn't the Weyr. We had no Hatching Grounds there, so we found this place. There's a hot spring that warms the ground here, and after about two weeks of bringing sand here from the beaches, we have one. This is going to be our new Weyr. We are going to use the stone cutters that were brought along to carve out individual personal Weyrs, but until then all we have are the natural caves. They are dry, and quite cozy. There are already rooms, beds, dressers, and anything else needed in place. That is where you will be staying."

After this was said, the riders began leading their candidates to what looked like the mouth of a cave. Iyola noticed that as they walked across the hot sands that burnt her feet, the queen watched them. She watched their every move, but barely moved herself. It frightened her. _That must be Quizzeth,_ she thought to herself as she continued walking.

Everyone was soon settled in their own rooms. Iyola and Amy shared a room, Taylor and Cydney shared a room, and for now Tayl was alone. As soon as Rarrent came the next day, though, he would move in with them.

It was then the five realized they weren't the first Candidates there. There was a boy named Brennan, the only one of them that wasn't Pernese, a boy named Fenek, another named Dereath, one of the oldest, almost twenty, named Eeshaw, one more named Tarek, and then one girl named Vishay. Vishay, Dereath, and Fenek where all Weyr bread. Eeshaw had been a holder's son, and Tarek was just a boy who wanted some adventure, so he came here. As the candidates where getting to know each other in the Main Cavern, the large cave that connected all of the individual rooms they were staying in, a rider entered.

He had the shoulder knots of a bronze, and came in with a happy expression on his face. Her rubbed his hands together as he asked, "Ok, who wants to see the eggs?"


	10. A Thrumming Humming

Everyone was extremely excited. Nobody, even the earlier Candidates, had gotten to come this close to the eggs before. They were practically tripping over each other as the walked across the hot sands.

The bronze rider stopped them several dragon lengths from the eggs. Almost everyone was wearing heavy boots, but the heat still crept through enough to make them uncomfortable and on-edge. As the rider turned to us, he grinned even further.

It took only a moment for the gaggle realize why. A queen rider walked up beside him. "Hello. I'm Jarnet, rider of gold Quizzeth over there. She's decided she's going to let you see the eggs. Don't do anything stupid, or anything that might harm the eggs. If Quizzeth growls at you, I suggest you get away from the eggs as fast as possible. That shouldn't be a problem, though, as she had promised she will behave." Jarnet flashed us a smile as she spoke the last words, then gestured toward the eggs. "What are you waiting for? Her patience wont hold forever!"

The Candidates walked hesitantly forward. Iyola and her friends all bunched together as they crept towards the eggs and the intimedating queen gaurding them. The eggs themselves came to about their shoulders, with the exception of the glistening egg in the center.

The queen egg.

The golden egg came all the way to Iyola's head, and gave off an aura of power. It was a comforting aura at the same time, though, and made Iyola a little more relaxed as she touched or stroked an egg.

They felt odd, like a hard leather that had been left out in the sun for too long. Briefly, Iyola remembered they were about three or four days old, and wouldn't hatch for a while still. As Iyola made her second round of the eggs, once more finding herself stroking the gold, the bronze's voice boomed out that it was time to go.

As the group gathered together again, everyone started chattering excitedly. After a little, they all decided they would continue their conversations in Tayl's room where there weren't so many ears to eavesdrop on them.

"Did you see the _size_ of those eggs?!" Taylor burst out.

"Did anyone else feel as if an egg was _calling_ to them?" Cydney spoke without bothering to answer Taylor's question. "That pretty mottled red-and-green one did to me, in a way."

"Yeah," Tayl agreed. "I got a brown, green, and red one for me."

"How did you get that close to the gold?" Amy asked Iyola. "It felt so… imtimidating!"

"I know," Iyola answered, "but at the same time it felt… comforting." She shrugged. "You never know."

The ecstatic friends continued blathering on until it got late and they got sleepy complaints from other Candidates.

It wasn't hard living at the new Weyr. The riders didn't judge you by rank, and, in turn, neither did the other Candidates. The Candidates did, however, have to help with the preparing of the Weyr for its new inhabitants. Namely, the dragonets that were growing on the sands. With everyone's help, though, and a good attitude about it, it wasn't hard. Not really, even if when you went to bed your muscles were so sore you could barely move. They also had lessons on how to care for your new dragon, what Weyr life was like, and the small significance of rank. Over all, though, everyone had fun.

It wasn't until they felt the odd thrumming through the soles of their feet that they realized how _long_ they had been at the Weyr.

"Everyone, into your robes!" the Candidate master shouted. The Main Cavern and all the dorms that connected it were chaos.

As Iyola shrugged on her white Candidate robe and tied her thick brown boots as quickly as her un-responsive fingers would act, Amy's queen started flitting about the room excitedly. She was humming along with the dragons and tugging at whoever was being too slow. Amy was constantly scolding Yma as she finally finished tying her laces. She and Iyola ran out into the Main Cavern where the Candidate master, a man with thick arms and of normal stature, was giving orders.

All Candidates were filling out onto the sands, fidgeting more from nervousness than the heat of the sands. They made a semi-circle around the eggs on the opposite side of Quizzeth, who was pacing back and forth in her attempt to keep from harming the Candidates. Her rider was soothing her when the first egg cracked.

Rarrant, whom Iyola just remembered had been at the Weyr almost the whole time she had yet she hadn't actually seen him once, was standing near it as the brown-and-purple egg burst to shards. Egg shell hit him as he backed away from the dragonet, a glistening bronze. He creeled piteously as he stumbled forward and landed face first in the sands.

_Where are you? Where are you? Help, please! _Iyola heard a voice shout in her head. She realized it must be a dragon, but the only hatchling was the bronze. Girls couldn't Impress bronzes!

Then Rarrant came forward, as if pulled by an invisible cord, and helped the flailing dragonet to his feet.

_Oh, thank you! Thank you! I am now yours, and you are now mine! _Iyola heard the same voice. With a jolt, she realized she was hearing the bronze talking to _Rarrant_. She could hear the dragon talking!

"He says his name is Queeseth!" Rarrant called out to the crowd. It was just then that Iyola realized her parents were yelling, screaming, cheering for their son. With a twinge of guilt, she remembered that throughout the whole time she had been at the Weyr she hadn't once thought of them.

She didn't have much time to think, though, as another egg hatched then. A blue, crying just as piteously as the bronze, crawled away from his shell and stumbled toward the Candidates.

_You are __**mine!**__ No one else may have you, as you are __**mine!**_ She heard the dragonet tell the boy. Iyola tried desperatly to block out the dragon-voices from her head.

A green slithered out of her shell at that point, and toddled towards the group of girls huddled near together. She let out a sound that was almost like a bark and raced as fast as her wobbly legs would carry her to but the legs of one of the girls.

_My name is-_ was all Iyola heard before she shut out the voice.

More dragons hatched. A brown went to one of the first Candidates, Eeshaw. Vishay got a lovely blue. Dereath was claimed by a dark brown who almost maimed the boy beside him. Fenek was grabbed by a green, and shortly after Tarek started to leave the sands with a bronze. After that, Iyola started to lose track.

Then, Amy, who was standing at her side with Yma perched on her shoulder, stiffened.

"What is it?" Iyola whispered to her.

"Don't you hear it? Don't you hear _her?"_

Then Iyola realized what she meant. She _did_ hear her.

_Where is she? Where is my partner? My life, my soul? _It came from a little green, her scales the color of jade, who was wandering aimlessly amongst her egg shells. The poor thing's eyes were sealed shut, and she couldn't see!

"Amy, you can hear her! She's calling to you! Go!" Iyola gave her a little shove toward the helpless green.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Let me help you, Ameth!" Amy then lead the dragonet, with the help of her gold, towards where buckets of meat were sitting. Iyola heard Ameth telling Amy something before shutting her out, as well. _Quizzeth says I will see, she says a healer can make me see!_

Iyola sighed and tried to concentrate on the Hatching again.

There didn't seem to be enough time for everything that happened next. Taylor and Cydney both impressed greens, and most of the remaining eggs hatched. All that remained were two eggs: the gold, and a mottled brown green and red.

All of the remaining Candidates clustered around the eggs, each wanting to Impress to the remaining eggs. The gold egg cracked straight down the middle, then broke apart.

Standing where the egg had once been was the most beautiful dragon Iyola had ever seen.

She felt a dragon trying to push into her mind, but she valiantly tried to block it out. She couldn't block it all out, though, and hear a soft, _Do you not want me? Would you prefer a green, or a blue?_

That melted her barriers and Iyola fell to her knees. The queen creeled to her.

"No, no green, no blue…."

The little queen's creel became happier as she stumbled forward. _You want me? You will be mine?_

"Of course! Iyola exclaimed, and hugged the golden head that reached toward her to her chest. "I only want you! No other will do!" And the two minds, two hearts, two souls merged to form one.

_I am Vexeth, and you are Iyola, and we are rider and dragon!_

_Yes,_ Iyola replied without her voice. _We are one._ She started to walk her dragonet towards the food, when she heard the last egg crack open.

Tayl was walking away, following Iyola to congratulate her. He didn't seem to have any hope at all of Impressing, and didn't care. He stopped mid-step as the little bronze cried out.

The bronze charged towards Tayl, tripping and falling only at his feet. Tayl reached down and scratched his new life-mate's eyeridge.

"Your name's Queereth, aye? I like it!" And the new riders, their dragons at their heels, went to feed their ravenous companions.


	11. Intense Hunger

Iyola and her friends were all sitting together feeding their ravenous dragons. They were in a room, actually, more of a cave, with all of the other new riders. They were sitting on wood and stone benches, buckets of meat at their side and hungry dragons at their feet. The Feeding Room, as it had been named, was lit by fires at each end and glows hanging from the ceiling in the middle. Iyola was just scolding Vexeth to chew for about the tenth time when the Weyrleaders entered the room.

"Greetings, new riders, and might I say congratulations?" spoke the lady. She was wearing a dark green dress with gold pictures of dragons etched all over it for the occasion. It matched her eyes, which were the same dark green as the dress, and had her dark brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She was of average height, but her body was lithe, and almost appeared fragile. The only marks of age that colored her were in her eyes: the grief she had felt over the years, the wisdom of life, and the hard glint that one took on when they had a great burden on their shoulders. Hers was the burden of running the Weyr.

"If you don't already know who I am, I am Weyrwoman Fain, rider of queen Fayleth."

"And I," spoke up the man beside her in a deep voice, "am temporary Weyrleader K'yane, rider of bronze Payorth." His bulkier body was odd next to the Weyrwoman's small one. His eyes were a dark blue and his skin was a dark tan. His hair, a mop of brown, looked like it hadn't been brushed. Despite his large size, he looked very kind.

Weyrwoman Fain spoke up again. "We are here to find out the names of you and your dragons, as well as welcome you to the Weyr." As she said the last bit, a creel of hunger went up from one of the hatchlings. Its chosen one blushed and fed it a chunk of meat while shushing it. "And please, don't favor us over your new life-mates. We don't mind if they're eating while we talk to you." Fain gave a smile that soothed the anxious crowd, and the pair started making their rounds as the silence broke and the talking started up again.

"Can you believe it?" Cydney asked from opposite of Iyola. "We're dragon riders! And I wouldn't give up Sophiath here for anything in the world!" As she spoke, she scratched her young new friend's eye ridge.

"I know!" Taylor answered. "No offense meant, but I wouldn't give up my lovely Carolineth even for your gold, Iyola."

"Well, I'm fine with that," Iyola answered. "I wouldn't give her to you anyways!" That sent up a bit of laughter before the conversation continued to move along as it had before.

"Can you believe how lucky I am?" asked T'y from beside Cydney. "I have the best little bronze in the world! No, the best out of all the dragons!" Everyone agreed.

R'ant, who had been sitting a ways off by himself, heard that and turned. "I don't think so," he disagreed. "My _Quiseth_ is the best bronze."

"Well," Amy broke in, stopping the fight before it started, "that may be true, but my _Ameth_ is the best _dragon_ there ever was!" This sent up another fit of laughter.

Ameth, after a very brief look-over from the dragonhealer, had been given her sight. Without even a knife the healer had opened her eyelids, which had been stuck together for some off reason. Now the little green looked around at everyone with her bright eyes, her excitement obvious.

Just then the Weyrwoman walked up to them. "Hello, who are you?" she asked the closest one to her. It just happened to be Taylor.

"I'm Taylor, rider of green," a little excitement went through her voice as she said this bit, "Carolineth." As if to prove it so, the jade-green dragonet at her feet butted at her legs affectionatly.

"Nice to meet you," she replied and moved onto the next one.

"She paused at Cidney as she noticed the green was not pure green. She was a blue-green, and she asked Cidney is she felt anything odd about her dragon.

Cidney almost yelled at her. "Of course not! There is nothing wrong with Sophiath!" The blue-green dragonet gave the best impression of a growl it could and glared at the Weyrwoman, a hint of red coloring her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to take offense," and she moved on.

She saved Iyola for last. "And you are?" she asked the new queen rider.

"I'm Iyola, rider of queen Vexeth." Her voice didn't falter at all, and she said Vexeth with pride. The Weyrwoman nodded in approval. She was about to move on when she noticed something odd.

"Uhm, have her eyes been gold the whole time?" she asked, a bit of worry in her voice.

"No. Before I Impressed her they were red. She says gold is just her happy color, like green for any other dragon. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no, but I've never seen a dragon before with gold eyes, is all." Then the Weyrwoman scooted herself quickly away. As stealthfully as she could, Fain left. K'yane lingered for a bit longer before leaving, as well. Then the Weyrlingmaster came in to take charge.

"Hello," he greeted them all. "I am Weyrlingmaster T'loff, rider of brown Renteth. You are in my charge, until you all become full dragon riders. My first means of business is that, as soon as you are done feeding your new life-mates, to show you to the weyrling barracks. It's not a far walk. Just line up outside when you're done."

It didn't take long for everyone to finish feeding the dragonets. They ate almost as fast as their riders could feed them, and still asked for it to come faster. When they had finally filled their gullets, Iyola and her friends, still in a bunch, walked with their dragons outside to wait.

T'loff was right, it wasn't a long walk. They had come directly off the sands to get to the Feeding Room, and all they did was skirt the sands a little ways until they arrived at their new homes. Everyone had the same room mates as before.

As Amy and Iyola settled their dragons down on their beds, raised wooden platforms, Iyola let down her mind-shield. She heard Amy converse with Ameth as she settled down Vexeth.

_You're such a silly dragon, to think you will be able to stay up with me,_ Amy was telling the green.

_You'll have all the fun without me! And I've never heard music before. What is it like?_

_I don't know how to describe it…._

_Does it sound like this? _And Ameth gave the best roar she could for her little body.

Both Iyola and Amy giggled.

_No, deary, it has a melody. I'll tell you when you wake up. Shhh, now, go to sleep._

_But what if Vexeth snores? _Ameth asked drowsily, though she was already closing her eyes.

Iyola and Amy let out a quiet snicker before leaving the room and turning out the lights.

As the room mates walked to the Hatching feast together, something seemed to dawn on Amy.

"You laughed with me, didn't you?" she asked Iyola.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess…" she could see where this was going and she wanted to avoid it.

"But why? What was so funny to you?"

"Something Vexeth said," she put in quickly, but it was obviously a lie.

"No, Iyola, _really._ A dragonet roaring randomly can't be that funny."

"Vexeth-" Iyola started, but a glare from Amy silenced it. "I could hear her," she admitted.

"All dragons?" Amy asked calmly, as if she had always expected it.

"Yes, but it just started at the Hatching. After the first few dragons hatched, I managed to shut out their voices, but… I let my guard down back in the barracks."

"Well," Amy sighed, "I suppose there's a reason Vexeth chose you and not someone else. That's not to say," she added quickly, "that you don't deserve her, but… It just explains some things, I suppose." A small grin planted itself on her face. "I can't wait to see their reactions when I tell them!"

"No!" Iyola immediately protested. "I don't want anyone else to know!"

"Oh, cool down. I'm not going to tell anyone but Taylor, T'y, and Cydney. They'd find it out on their own, anyway. Dragons, remember?"

Iyola surrendered and they dropped the conversation as they entered the noisy dinning hall.


	12. First Days on the Job

As Iyola and Amy entered the Dinning Hall, which was filled with celebrating riders and families, a man immediately walked up to her. He had the shoulder knots of a brown.

"Wine?" he asked kindly.

"No, I think I should be my best tomorrow," Iyola refused politely. Amy did as well.

As the pair got their food, the rest of the group found them and caught up. They all sat together at a table, everyone had decided against wine and instead had the odd Pernese drink, _klah_, to talk.

"Guys," Amy started, "You wont believe this! Iyola can-"

The queen rider cut her off. "Perhaps when we're in a more private place?" she gave Amy a warning look. Amy, a little disappointed, dropped it.

"I still can't believe it!" T'y's voice was shocked.

"I know!" agreed Taylor. "I feel so lucky!"

"And tomorrow's our first _real_ day…" Cydney was speechless.

"We shouldn't stay up to late, though," Iyola commented.

Amy yawned.

The whole group laughed.

The new riders didn't stay up very late. They were all tired from the Hatching, and they all wanted to get back to their new life-mates. Most of them were asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

Still, the next day they were all tired.

Everyone, no matter how sleepy they were, was woken up by a hungry, creeling dragonet. Outside their doors they found food enough to sate their partner's hunger, and were then rallied up by the Weyrling Master. He sent them off to eat, then told them what time their classes would be starting and where to go for them. If they felt the need, and if their dragonet was wakeful enough, they could bring them in with them to class.

Iyola and her friends scarfed down their hot porridge before rushing to the class room. It wasn't that they thought they would be late, but they were so excited it didn't matter. All of their dragons were fast asleep, so they didn't bring them in.

A few, only three or four, managed to get their sleepy partners into the room with them. One was R'ant. As soon as R'ant's bronze settled down at his feet under the desk, he was fast asleep. Iyola grinned and wondered what possessed her brother to bring Queeseth with him.

Then T'loff walked into the class room. He gave off an odd feel, a feel of comfort and love, but strict discipline. His brown bugled outside.

"Good morning, weyrlings. I am here to teach you how to care for your new dragons, and your duty to the Weyr and your planet. I will have to work especially hard with you, because many of you have not grown up on Pern and do not know some of the more basic things. This will not be a class with written tests, but merely a class where your _actions_ show what you've learned. You will, however, have tests and assignments.

"Today, I will simply teach you some of the more basic skills needed to care for your dragons."

The class ended as soon as the first hungry dragonet woke up. No one knew at quite what time that was, but it didn't fell like much time had passed.

Iyola and her friends led their complaining life-mates to the lake to bathe. They were all hungry, and insisted on being fed first, but everyone knew that if the dragons ate first, they would be too tired to get a good wash. Despite being hungry, the young dragons enjoyed being washed and then romping with each other in the water. After a little bit of coaxing, and reminding them that they'd better hurry if they wanted to eat, the young riders managed to get their happy companions out of the water and onto land for an oiling, which they had learned how to do from T'loff.

After that, and _only_ after that, the dragonets were fed and put back into their beds. This time they didn't fall into quite as deep a sleep, but it was sleep none the less.

A couple of days later the group of friends were walking their dragonets to the lake for a wash when two brown riders walked up to them.

"Oh, look!" called one of them, one with a clump of dark brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days. "It's the misfit green!" His brown, one with hide just as dark as his rider's hair, growled at Sophiath, his eyes whirling with a slight red in them. Sophiath growled back and took up a threatening stance.

"Misfit?" T'y came to Cydney's aid. "Look who's talking! The brown rider who swore up and down he would Impress a bronze because his father had. Lived down the shame, yet?" At his heels, Queereth growled and bared his sharp teeth.

"Oh, so says the high and mighty bronze rider who tried to walk away from his dragon!" the other rider chimed in. His hair blonde and, unlike his fellow, was messy in an artful way. His dark green eyes glared at them as his dragon, a light brown, also took up a threatening stance.

Soon all of the dragons were on edge. Insults were spit back and forth, but the pair of brown riders were out numbered. Vexeth was in the middle of springing forward to snap at the dark brown when an older rider stepped in.

"What is this all about?" the green rider roared. Iyola recognized him as Sh'ron.

Iyola was about to make a fool of herself and snap out something when cool-headed T'y came to her rescue. "The brown riders started insulting our dragons. As you can imagine, both dragon," he gestured to Iyola as she untangled her golden claws from the snapping brown, "and rider took offense."

Sh'ron turned to the young brown riders, his eyes blazing. "Well?" he asked them harshly.

"They insulted _me,_" and the dark headed boy shoved a fist into his chest, "personally."

"And," Sh'ron was barely keeping his voice level, "did they insult you before or after you insulted their dragons?"

"Oh, wait, you're the green rider that Searched them, aren't you?!" he started to snap at Sh'ron. "Of course you'll side with-"

The blond headed boy threw a hand over his companion's mouth. "I'm sorry, " he said cooly, but with a hidden edge to it, "my friend has a problem with his anger. Please excuse him."

Sh'ron squinted his eyes, not just at the brown riders, but at the whole of the weyrlings. "I'm not going to take this one to anyone higher than myself _this time_, but if I see your dragons ready to kill their own clutch mates again, you can expect the Weyrleader to hear about it, especially with the queen involved. Now, finish caring for your dragons and then get to class." Sh'ron turned on his heel and started to walk away, barely keeping his anger. The two groups of riders each took one last glare at eachother before heading to opposite sides of the lake to bathe their dragons. They were lucky that they had already had their morning class and that this was the one day of the week that they got the rest of the day off. If it hadn't been so, they would all have been late.


End file.
